Review of The Boys in the Band (1970) by Michael S — 22 Jul 2009

A lot of mixed reactions hit me as I watched this one. It is so very dated and is most potent, at times, as an artifact of its time. Cliff Gorman traipses through the film having pushed the cliched 'nelly queen' character into almost surreal performance art - and its grating on the nerves.

The play itself is indeed potent, with some really tense moments and excellent character sketches, laughs as well. But the laughs are rare and they become more defensive. I was shocked, come the middle of the film, how really miserable this whole depiction is.

The characters become so harsh towards one another that one has to draw the conclusion that the only reason they are "friends" is because they're the only queers they know. This is a littany of passive-aggressive self hating as well as self-accepting and the overall effect comes off as confused.

That didn't offend me but it left me adrift in a world so distressingly defined to itself but without anywhere to celebrate it. As a truly balanced bisexual, the world of this film is as alien and uncomfortable as sitting around with a group of staunchly heterosexual, homophobic personalities.

Friedkin's direction is as subtle as ever (that's a joke for you non-cinephiles) and the real joy that can be found in this film is the ensemble, which is as it should be I guess. Every actor here is given a moment in the generous script to let you see deep down into the soul of the man he is representing and its a stirring thing to see.

Its delightful to learn that one is witnessing the majority of the original cast who'd originated the piece on stage and had spent a few years beforehand in the skin of the characters. Its almost unbearably poignant to learn that five of them had died of AIDS by the middle of the 90s.